The entire National Museum will be accessible after restoration by mid-2020

Prague - All exhibitions of the National Museum in Prague will be opened to the public by mid-2020 after a general reconstruction. On the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia next October, the construction will be completed and a large Czech-Slovak exhibition will open in the historic building. The museum's director Michal Lukeš stated this to journalists today during a site visit. By mid-2019, the natural history exhibitions will be accessible to the public, and a year later, the historical exhibitions in the New Building will also open, he told ČTK.

After opening, the historic building will be accessible to 90 percent of its spaces. Lukeš stated that access to the building and movement within it will also be enabled for people with disabilities, and the exhibitions will also be accommodating to those with hearing and visual impairments. The offices of the museum staff will move to an adjacent building. Although the original layout of the historic building will not fundamentally change, several modifications will still be made for visitors.

The museum will gain new space for large exhibits by roofing both courtyards. This will also create a place for a café, concerts, and social events. The dome of the building will be accessible with a view over the entire city of Prague. The concept of a historical-natural science museum will connect both buildings, and the museum will have several visitor routes. Meanwhile, a tunnel is being constructed for the renovation linking the New Building of the museum, the former Federal Assembly building.

Today, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (CSSD) and Minister of Culture Daniel Herman (KDU-CSL) inspected the construction site. Along with journalists, they walked through the construction on red carpets that once adorned the hall and now help reduce dust. The interior of the building is insulated with chipboard to dampen vibrations, and jackhammers are heard throughout the museum while people and materials are transported by outdoor elevators. From the courtyard, one can see how an underground connection to the New Building is being dug beneath the historic building and the main road. Restorers are working in the halls on the ceiling paintings in typical backward poses, while work on the outdoor sculptures has temporarily ceased due to frost.

"We are about halfway through the construction; it has been just under 20 months since we handed over the project to the construction company. It is a very demanding project, and I think it's one of the most challenging constructions currently taking place in the Czech Republic, whether in terms of size, the fact that a third of the work consists of special heritage preservation work on a national cultural monument, or because it is located in the center of Prague," said Lukeš.

He noted that he is managing to maintain the budget set in the tender at approximately 1.6 billion crowns. "We are quite successful regarding additional works, we have approved an additional payment of 16 million crowns, while there were also nearly ten million in 'less work,' which is a difference of six million crowns," he stated.

"The National Museum has never undergone a comprehensive reconstruction since its establishment; this is the first time in history that its historic building is undergoing extensive renovation," Sobotka recalled. "I am convinced that the building will be beautiful. (...) Even today we could see fragments of what the new façade will look like and what the reconstructed ceilings look like. The opening of the National Museum will be one of the significant events of 2018," said the Prime Minister, who was Minister of Finance when the decision for the general renovation of the museum was made in 2006.